


Phobia

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:08:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23405014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Jack is freaked out by the termites in his building, and the band helps him through it.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Phobia

**Author's Note:**

> This is a request!

“Alright, well, I’ll let you get back to prepping your apartment, man. It looks like you’ve got a lot to get done over there,” Alex said to Jack through the phone on their Instagram livestream.   
“Oh, I sure do, it’s all going to be so much fun!” Jack sarcastically replied.   
“Well, you have fun with that, I’ll talk to you later, man,” Alex continued.  
“Sounds good. Have fun with the stream!” Jack replied as Alex took Jack out of the stream. Jack walked over to his couch and took a deep breath as he sat down. Not much later, his heartrate started to increase, and he felt that all too familiar anxious feeling starting to pool in his stomach.   
In a couple of days, his apartment would have to be fumigated, because one of the people in his building had termites, and Jack was really freaked out by this. Jack didn’t mind having to empty out his kitchen, but he was afraid of the actual bugs. Something that not many people knew about him, was that he was terrified of bugs, because of some bad memories with them in his childhood.   
The person with the termites lived a few floors up from him, but Jack was still afraid of them working their way down to his place and tearing apart what he considered to be his safe space. Jack knew that he should continue working on getting everything ready for the fumigation, but he decided that he should try to ease his nerves some, so he got up and walked over to the mini fridge by his bar.   
He grabbed a White Claw from it and started to drink it. He’d been drinking consistently throughout the day, which he knew wasn’t a good thing, but he figured that if he kept a steady buzz going, that his anxiety would mostly be at bay, to where he could function and get done what he needed to.   
Jack took his drink into the kitchen and set it on the table as he opened up the cabinet above his sink to clear it out. He cautiously started to take out the boxes of food that was in it, afraid he’d reveal a crazy population of termites behind everything.   
Eventually, the cabinet was emptied, and totally pest free, to Jack’s relief. He opened up the cabinet under the sink next, and slowly tried to clear it out. Any time he heard a noise, his anxiety spiked, and he assumed it was a termite, when in reality, it was just his stuff shifting around some as he continued to empty out the cabinet.   
Once Jack had taken care of two more of his cabinets, he was feeling more afraid, to the point where he couldn’t continue what he was trying to do. After quickly finishing the rest of his drink, he threw out the can, and grabbed a new one, which he took back over to the couch.   
Jack decided that he needed to talk to a friend about how he was feeling, so he pulled out his phone, and began to scroll through his contact list. He had quite a few friends, but he couldn’t find anyone that he wanted to talk this through with, since he was a bit embarrassed by this fear.   
Jack went to his text messages and saw the band group chat. While he figured that his friends would tease him some for this, he decided that the band would be the best people to talk to, since they’d been his support system for so long, and knew when to be serious and helpful when it was needed.   
Jack went out of his messages and to his Instagram to see if Alex was still live. When Jack saw that the stream was over, he went back to the band’s chat, and sent out a message.  
Jack: Hey guys, do you think we could group FaceTime for a bit? It’s kind of important.  
Jack started to sip at his drink until he finally felt his phone start to vibrate.  
Alex: Sure, but I can’t for too long- I’ve got to help the wife with something.  
Rian: Sounds good to me, I’m not doing anything.  
Zack: Let’s do it!  
Jack went to the FaceTime app and added his friends before officially starting the call. After a couple rings, everybody finally picked up.  
“Hey guys!” Alex exclaimed with a smile.  
“It’s been a while since we’ve done this,” Zack stated.  
“For sure, we should do this more often,” Rian added with a smile.  
“We absolutely should, but what’s going on with you, Jack? I just talked with you on the livestream, and everything seemed to be okay,” Alex pointed out, sounding a bit concerned.  
“Well, its’ kind of stupid, so I’m going to have to ask you guys to not make fun of me,” Jack started, not looking at his phone.  
“If this is serious, you know we won’t man,” Zack replied.  
“Zack’s right, we’ve got you. Now, what’s going on?” Rian asked. Jack took a deep breath and sat u some before finally speaking.  
“Well, I think you all know this, but my entire building is getting fumigated in two days, and I’m really freaked out,” Jack explained, embarrassment in his voice.  
“That can certainly be a bit daunting, but I’m sure that you and our things will be okay,” Rian reassured.  
“Well, it’s not that I’m afraid of. I’m afraid of the actual bugs,” Jack confessed.  
“Really? I’m surprised,” Alex stated.  
“Me too. Besides, aren’t they kind of far away from your unit?” Rian asked.  
“Yeah, they’re a few floors up from me, but bugs just really freak me out. Like, the thought of finding one of those termites in my apartment scares the hell out of me. I’ve been trying to empty all of my cabinets, but I just can’t do it, because I’m afraid of moving something, just to find one of those termites behind it,” Jack explained, taking another sip of his drink.  
“Hey, are you drinking to stop the anxiety? You know that’s a bad idea!” Alex exclaimed, making Jack quickly set the can back down.  
“Yeah, I have been. It’s actually kind of helped me some,” Jack admitted.  
“You know that doesn’t really help, dude. You need to deal with the stress and fear in a healthier way,” Zack pointed out.  
“That’s easier said than done, man. You all have escapes that help you with shit like this. Zack, you have working out. Rian, you have your studio and producing. Alex, you have a wife and an insane new house. I live alone, and all of my friends out here work normal, full time jobs, so none of them can be here with me to calm me down,” Jack stated, starting to feel a bit upset.  
“You know what, why don’t I come out there tomorrow? I can help you get your unit ready for the fumigation, and I can try to help you stay calm. We can rent an Airbnb, and make a guys weekend out of this,” Alex offered.  
“I couldn’t ask you to do that so last minute, that’s a lot of time and money for you to impulsively spend just to make sure that I don’t get too plastered over this stupid shit,” Jack replied, feeling guilty.  
“That’s a good offer, Jack, you should take it,” Rian stated.  
“Yeah, Alex will help you so much by doing that, a lot more than any of us can right now from where we are,” Zack added.  
“I know that this is kind of impulsive, but I can tell that you’re really freaked out by all of this. I do want to make sure that you don’t overdo it with the drinks, but I know that having someone physically with you will help you to not freak out, and to feel safer. I don’t have any commitments here in Baltimore, and some time to hang out together would be fun! What do you say, man?” Alex asked, sounding like he genuinely wanted to help his friend. Jack thought over everything in his head before finally speaking again.  
“You know what, fuck it, let’s do it!” Jack exclaimed with a smile.  
“Sweet! I’ll book a flight when we hang up, and I’ll text you the times and stuff,” Alex replied.  
“That sounds great, Alex. Thank you for this, and thank you, Zack and Rian, for listening to me. I know this is probably all so stupid, but the help and support mean a lot,” Jack sincerely said back.  
“No problem, I’m glad you told us, instead of trying to deal with it on your own,” Zack replied.  
“Yeah, anxiety sucks, you can always come to us when you’re going through it, no matter if we’re on tour or at home,” Rian added with a smile.  
“You guys really are the best,” Jack stated.  
“We try to be! I’ll get on the soonest flight that I can, and then we can get your place ready, and turn this into a fun thing. I need you to promise me that you won’t’ keep drinking like crazy until I get there, though. If clearing your stuff makes you stressed and anxious, don’t do it, save it for when I get there,” Alex instructed.  
“Will do, don’t worry. I’ll let you guys go, but thanks again for listening,” Jack said back. Everyone said their goodbyes, then Jack ended the call. He got up and threw away the rest of his drink before going back to the couch.   
Jack turned on the TV and put on South Park to take his mind off of everything. Not much later, Jack felt his phone vibrate, so he unlocked it and went to his messages.  
Alex: There’s a red eye tonight, so I’ll take that, and get to LA around ten tomorrow morning.  
Jack: I’ll be at LAX to pick you up at ten, then! Thanks again for doing this, I really owe you one.  
Alex: I’m happy to do it and help. Try to relax this afternoon, and we’ll make a fun few days out of this.  
Jack put his phone down as he felt a smile form on his face. Jack felt lucky to have a friend who cared about him so much, and who was able to make a fumigation into something to be excited about.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is a request for someone on here, based on a livestream from about a month ago now! Hopefully I won't jinx myself by saying this, but I want to try to post daily as much as possible while quarantining and social distancing is going on, because writing fills my free time, and I want to give you guys something to read for if and when you guys get bored! I've got some requests to work on, but always feel free to send more in, I'm always willing to add more to my list, so I never run out! Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it! Lots of love, Liv.


End file.
